Which out-of-state carry permits does South Carolina recognize?

By statute, Georgia and North Carolina permits are automatically recognized (S.C. Code Ann. § 23-31-215(N)(2)). For every other state, (N)(1) requires that the permit belong to a resident of a reciprocal state that itself requires a background check and a training course — and that SLED publish that list. The list has not been published. Our matrix therefore stores only GA and NC.

Can I carry in South Carolina with a non-resident permit from another state?

For entering South Carolina itself the answer is usually yes anyway, because permitless carry since 7 March 2024 covers a non-prohibited adult 18 or older, resident or visitor. The (N)(1) resident-of-a-reciprocal-state rule means a Utah or Florida non-resident card is not what the statute recognizes as a permit. You do not need that card to enter.

Does South Carolina recognize my state's permit?

If you hold a Georgia or North Carolina permit, yes, automatically. Otherwise the statute says yes only if your state is on the unpublished (N)(1) list and you live there. Until SLED publishes the list, the honest public answer for everyone else is: you cannot prove (N)(1) recognition from an official roster, and you do not need it to carry inside South Carolina under the permitless rule.

Where does a South Carolina permit work in other states?

That is outbound recognition, which each destination state publishes. SLED's missing (N)(1) page is not that list. Use the destination state's official page, or the reciprocity matrix built from those pages.

How long has South Carolina been required to publish this?

The publication mandate is explicit in the current § 23-31-215(N). SLED's concealed-weapons page still recites that a 'listing of reciprocity agreement states' is provided. The 10 August 2026 permit record found the promise and no link, page, or PDF. Re-check the live HTML before treating that screenshot as current.

South Carolina's Statute Orders a Reciprocity List. Nothing Has Been Published.

GunMapUSA August 14, 2026

GunMapUSA · https://gunmapusa.com/articles/south-carolina-cant-say/

The short version

South Carolina's statute, S.C. Code Ann. § 23-31-215(N)(1), directs SLED to 'maintain and publish a list' of states whose resident permits South Carolina honors after a background-check-plus-training test. As of the 10 August 2026 permit record, no such list exists as a page or PDF on sled.sc.gov.
Only Georgia and North Carolina are recognized automatically, under § 23-31-215(N)(2), which works without any list at all. Those two codes are the entire honors array in our matrix.
The (N)(1) rule honors an out-of-state permit only when it is held by a resident of the reciprocal state, so a Utah or Florida non-resident permit held by a third-state resident is not covered.
Permitless carry (effective 7 March 2024) makes inbound recognition mostly moot for entering South Carolina: a non-prohibited adult 18 or older may carry without any permit. The missing list is not the document that tells a South Carolinian where an SC permit is honored outbound. That is the other state's list.
Publishing the inbound roster is a webpage. The statute already ordered it.

Some states publish reciprocity lists because they want to. South Carolina is required to by statute and does not — while its own law enforcement agency’s web page promises the list exists.

The gap is small, embarrassing, and unusually instructive. The state has an inbound recognition rule, the rule produces a set of states, and the government never tells anyone what the set is.

What the statute actually says

South Carolina Code § 23-31-215(N) is precise:

(N)(1) — Out-of-state permits “held by a resident of a reciprocal state” must be honored, provided the reciprocal state requires a background check and a firearms training course of its own applicants. Then: “SLED shall maintain and publish a list of those states as the states with which South Carolina has reciprocity.”
(N)(2) — Georgia and North Carolina are recognized automatically, no list needed. Those two postal codes are the entire honors array in our matrix.
(N)(3) — The reciprocity covers handguns only.

So the statute creates a principled test for inbound recognition and then mandates publication of the resulting list. SLED’s Concealed Weapons Permit page still says a “listing of reciprocity agreement states” is provided. As of the 10 August 2026 permit record, no such list, page or PDF was on sled.sc.gov. That claim is date-stamped. If a list appears tomorrow, this paragraph is stale.

The two things the missing list does not decide

First, entering South Carolina itself. Permitless concealed carry since 7 March 2024 does not distinguish residents from visitors. A non-prohibited adult 18 or older may carry without any permit, which makes inbound recognition mostly moot at the border.

Second, the (N)(2) pair. Georgian and North Carolinian permits are in by flat. No list required.

What it does matter for

A visitor who wants to rely on a permit rather than permitless carry. If your state is not GA or NC, (N)(1) covers you only if you live in a reciprocal state that passed the test. A Utah or Florida non-resident card held by someone who lives elsewhere is not what (N)(1) describes. The unpublished list would tell a traveler which home-state permits actually count. It is not published.
A dispute about (N)(1). The defense runs through whether the home state requires a background check and a course. Those facts are often easy to prove. A traveler should not need a lawyer to learn what the state already ordered its own agency to print.

What it does not matter for

Where a South Carolina permit is honored in other states. That is outbound recognition. Each destination state publishes its own list. SLED’s missing page is not that document. Telling an SC holder that the unpublished roster is “the document travelers need” for leaving the state mixes the two axes.

Why this matters beyond South Carolina

Our reciprocal matrix is built from primary sources because “the state recognizes 30 states” is a claim that has to be verified from the state’s own official statement. When a state refuses to publish its own inbound answer, the silence is policy, and the fix is a webpage.

Until the page appears, treat the (N)(1) roster as unpublished, rely on (N)(2) and permitless carry for entering South Carolina, and check each state on an outbound route against that state’s published rules in our reciprocity matrix.

The statutory text is at the link above, SLED’s promise is live on its own site, and the state’s permitless-carry and permit details are on our South Carolina page.

Questions

Which out-of-state carry permits does South Carolina recognize?: By statute, Georgia and North Carolina permits are automatically recognized (S.C. Code Ann. § 23-31-215(N)(2)). For every other state, (N)(1) requires that the permit belong to a resident of a reciprocal state that itself requires a background check and a training course — and that SLED publish that list. The list has not been published. Our matrix therefore stores only GA and NC.
Can I carry in South Carolina with a non-resident permit from another state?: For entering South Carolina itself the answer is usually yes anyway, because permitless carry since 7 March 2024 covers a non-prohibited adult 18 or older, resident or visitor. The (N)(1) resident-of-a-reciprocal-state rule means a Utah or Florida non-resident card is not what the statute recognizes as a permit. You do not need that card to enter.
Does South Carolina recognize my state's permit?: If you hold a Georgia or North Carolina permit, yes, automatically. Otherwise the statute says yes only if your state is on the unpublished (N)(1) list and you live there. Until SLED publishes the list, the honest public answer for everyone else is: you cannot prove (N)(1) recognition from an official roster, and you do not need it to carry inside South Carolina under the permitless rule.
Where does a South Carolina permit work in other states?: That is outbound recognition, which each destination state publishes. SLED's missing (N)(1) page is not that list. Use the destination state's official page, or the reciprocity matrix built from those pages.
How long has South Carolina been required to publish this?: The publication mandate is explicit in the current § 23-31-215(N). SLED's concealed-weapons page still recites that a 'listing of reciprocity agreement states' is provided. The 10 August 2026 permit record found the promise and no link, page, or PDF. Re-check the live HTML before treating that screenshot as current.

Sources

← All articles

Retrieved from https://gunmapusa.com/articles/south-carolina-cant-say/ · GunMapUSA